Hamfist
I promise not to murder Canadan.
Me too! Along with an unconscious shoulder shrug.
Hitting in the center of the club?
I have a wear spot on my clubs like the really good players do but it's pretty far towards the toe 
. On balls I thought I struck well I look at the club and see a mark still towards the toe. I have great hand-eye coordination but I have no idea how to hit the middle.
. On balls I thought I struck well I look at the club and see a mark still towards the toe. I have great hand-eye coordination but I have no idea how to hit the middle.
I initially laughed at this believing you were being funny and then thought, sh*t, what if he's being serious this one time.
Hamfist
I promise not to murder Canadan.
Yep. A weird shoulder shrug I cannot break.
Carolina Golfer
Well-known member
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As a senior golfer off center hits seem to be more common than not. I've tried lessons, digging it out of the dirt, sgi clubs and there are good days and bad ones. I think in 2022, I need to put energy into scoring, acceptance and not worried about the 2-3 swing thoughts in one swing.
Sorry, didn't mean to laugh. I was thinking shoulder shrug as in "oh well, it's golf... shrug it off" kind of thing.
MrBlast
Well-known member
I think you just helped me with my swing. Much appreciated!
RecGolfer
Well-known member
Try hitting a few short greenside ships with a 9-iron. When you're striking the ball on the center consistently, hit longer chips, then move up to pitches, then knockdowns, and finally to the full swing. Figure on this project taking more than a few months with frequent trips to the range.
In general, slowing down your swing leads to more center hits.
In general, slowing down your swing leads to more center hits.
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I get heel as a miss with my driver and toe as a miss with my irons. Add them together and I'm center of the club face baby!
I aim center contact whether it happens is another story. I remember having a hard time with the driver years ago. Slow motion replay show pros hit it top center face and I tried but couldn’t be that specific. Good player taught me to just let it collide with the center of the driver face
When ball Inside 85 yards I think delibrate off center give best distance control.
When ball Inside 85 yards I think delibrate off center give best distance control.
The same part of the human body that is responsible for measuring the distance from the ball and directing it into the center of the ball while being pulled down from behind your torso out of eyesight approx. 6-8 feet on an inclined arc is the same part that buttons your shirt buttons - brings food to your mouth without ever missing - that slices your steak - slaps that bug on your head without missing or having to look for him - that can bring hot coffee to your mouth without looking - that performs millions of intricate task daily for us.
I expect you don’t need me to answer that !
Of course , most players are being taught that the nose , toes , elbows , hips , shoulders , knees , feet and everything but those are the KEY. And - if those secondary actors are actively being overused and moving all over the place it becomes extremely difficult for those * dominant parts * to control the direction of the face, especially moving at high speeds.
I expect you don’t need me to answer that !
Of course , most players are being taught that the nose , toes , elbows , hips , shoulders , knees , feet and everything but those are the KEY. And - if those secondary actors are actively being overused and moving all over the place it becomes extremely difficult for those * dominant parts * to control the direction of the face, especially moving at high speeds.
JZ777
Well-known member
Am a center/toe guy and have always been that way. Tendency for me is bring my hands closer to my body on my downswing. With that knowledge, my fitter puts me in equipment that helps me with that. Hence the Ping gear, very forgiving on toe hits.
Luchnia
You will never conquer golf.
- Thread starter
- #38
I think this is fairly typical. One can find a number of different things that cause this depending on the golfer. With the driver it can be standing too close, too much pressure on the front of your feet, over use of hands, swing path, upper body lean, setup with arms bent too much then they stretch out when you swing, and so on it goes.
I worked on this some last year as I tend to heel strike more than I should with my driver. From what I can tell the preferred strike area is slightly toward the toe and in the upper quadrant for best ball strikes.
I notice most pros tend to address the ball with the driver head more toward the toe and this may be to prevent this when they swing. It is rare to see anyone address the ball from the heel of the driver, but some do. I know one guy that does present the driver to the ball right on the heel, but it works for him.
RecGolfer
Well-known member
It's going to take a lot of work. This is the Holy Grail of golf and it is not to be had easily. Here's what I have done.
Learn impact. Start with a four-foot swing and hit the ball cleanly, ball first-ground second. Spend a lot of time with this until you get this right consistently. Figure out what you have to do. The hands leading the clubhead through impact is a big change you probably need to make. Once your four-foot swings are working consistently and for a LOT of times (hundreds of times, and I'm not kidding), move to five-foot swings. Learn how to make a five-foot swing work. Be money with a five-foot swing. Then learn how to make a six-foot swing work. Etc. This is going to take some time (months!), but you will be building positive habits that don't come overnight.
Or if this isn't your cup of tea, invent a different means. But what you're asking for will take a lot of relentless work, one step at a time. There is no other way.
Learn impact. Start with a four-foot swing and hit the ball cleanly, ball first-ground second. Spend a lot of time with this until you get this right consistently. Figure out what you have to do. The hands leading the clubhead through impact is a big change you probably need to make. Once your four-foot swings are working consistently and for a LOT of times (hundreds of times, and I'm not kidding), move to five-foot swings. Learn how to make a five-foot swing work. Be money with a five-foot swing. Then learn how to make a six-foot swing work. Etc. This is going to take some time (months!), but you will be building positive habits that don't come overnight.
Or if this isn't your cup of tea, invent a different means. But what you're asking for will take a lot of relentless work, one step at a time. There is no other way.
uitar99
Well-known member
I find setup is very important for me as well.
A few years ago I started cleaning my driver face after each shot and noticed I was hitting it high and closer to the heel. I'm not a big hitter but was bleeding yards and pulling it right too often (I'm a lefty).
Rather than try to change something with my swing decided to tee it a touch lower...and...set up with the club face a touch further from the ball. I don't have to rely on timing with set up changes.
Ball is flying straighter and longer. I still miss hit, I'm a hacker.
Doesn't mean I don't tinker with swing...but it has to be for a specific reason, not so it looks good to some stranger I'm golfing with on Saturday morning.
I really like this answer. We may never have a perfect swing, but that doesn't mean we can't set-up the ball to give us the best chance for success. That is also what I am trying to do this year as well. Great post @uitar99 !
uitar99
Well-known member
I think it was Mr Pennick who had tom kite hitting all of his irons and wedges to the same target.
I wondered about that so when I went to a range, that is all I do. I hit irons and wedges (and sometimes hybrids) to the same target, 100 yards.
He gave no instruction, I found it was sort of like throwing a baseball to a friend. I had no instruction, just somehow figured it out. That really helped me on approach shots. I stopped just beating balls on a range.
50% of the time, I hit the centre of the club every time 
.
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